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The Projectionist: A Portrait of Life in a Small Prairie Town The Projectionist A s Toss begins to recognize this, he attempts to distance h i m s e l f from the disreputable D e w e y , but the damage is largely done. No-one really wants to believe that Toss has nothing to do with it. Toss is v i e w e d as a failure i n a failing town. H i s marriage is over, his wife not able to stand the isolation of his farm. She is but a shadow character in this book, existing only in Toss' memory, through the postcards she has sent h i m from M e x i c o , and by the effect her desertion has on his standing in town. It may be difficult to picture a drought-plagued Saskatchewan farm town from our vantage point i n waterlogged Vancouver, but this is the setting o f M i c h a e l H e l m ' s The Projectionist. H i s landscape o f wide open fields and b l o w n - a w a y topsoil m i n g l e d with little patches o f b r o w n l a w n provides a backdrop for the defeated characters i n the soon-tobe-ghost-town o f M a y f o r d . It is a town on the decline, desperate for rainfall, somewhat menacing as an entity o f its o w n , and sustaining itself on a diet o f prejudice, overwrought imagination, and small-mindedness. Toss R a y m o n d , schoolteacher, loner, misfit, and erroneously tagged cucko l d , seems to revel i n pushing the buttons o f the local citizens. W i t h the help o f his bizarre friend Dewey, the local m o v i e theatre operator, he manages to alienate many o f Mayford's leaders. M e m b e r s o f the school board are rumoured to be c a l l i n g for Toss dismissal under the 1 literature By Sherri Stinn K a r e n there. Toss appears to be a lost soul i n this story. H e has few real friends, his family is all but gone, and he is not very w e l l liked by many people i n his hometown. H e tries to maintain his ideas o f "home," but they gradually become broken and shifted until we wonder w h y he does stay. Solitary and a thinker, Toss is more introspective and self-aware than the average M a y f o r d citizen. H e has maintained his hope i n the future despite watching the t o w n c r u m b l i n g around h i m . B y the end o f the story he has come up with a plan to revitalize M a y f o r d , or at least his c o m e r o f it, with a new source o f income that is not dependent on the weather. Perhaps a new direction for Toss and the town is what's needed for both to recover. A l t h o u g h the book is occasionally difficult to f o l l o w (just like f o l l o w ing someone else's train o f thought), it is a very engaging story o f a man at a crossroad in his life. T h e character o f Karen is a little less c o n v i n c i n g . She does not seem w e l l developed enough to mean so much to Toss. H e l m also seems to rely a little too much on stereotypes. Ignorance and a tendency to pass judgment are not restricted to the people l i v i n g i n small towns. One Mayfordite accuses Toss o f being difficult to hold a conversation with, and because he does like to say whatever happens to come to m i n d , this is true. T h e same could be said o f the author, M i c h a e l H e l m . It is not always clear who is speaking to w h o m , and I often found myself rereading a conversation to figure out where it started. Nevertheless, the book is funny and engaging and provides much food for thought by interweaving the complexities that are human motivations and relationships, eo Sherri Stinn is a freelance writer living in North Vancouver. by Michael H e l m Douglas & Mclntyre 299 pp., $18.95 softcover Toss' refusal to k o w t o w to local expectations o f proper behaviour also has a negative affect on his teaching j o b . In a truly funny scene with M r s . M a r l e y f o o t , a school board trustee, and her daughter. Toss tries to pass off some early household artifacts at the museum as a "prairie man's c o n d o m . " T h e "Marleyfeet," as Toss refers to them, are not amused, and neither is K a r e n , w h o is the museum curator and Toss' love interest. H e seems unable to behave h i m s e l f even to earn her good o p i n i o n . H e even shows up late to escort Karen and her mother to church and then drives to the wrong one. Apart from a core o f people i n his life--his cousin Perry, Dewey, A u n t C o r a , and K a r e n , Toss has little respect for those around h i m . W h i l e he is able to maintain a g o o d relationship with the students i n his class (graduating class o f twelve) he seems bent on sabotaging his o w n career and his prospects with Karen. Karen was b o m i n M a y f o r d but has lived in Vancouver for years. She returns to M a y f o r d to care for her ailing mother, w h o is very much concerned with appearances and her reputation in the town. Karen's mother disapproves o f Toss and clearly communicates this to her daughter. Karen is no more suited to life in M a y f o r d than Toss' wife was, yet he tries unsuccessfully to keep guise o f budget cuts, and the local police department, in the form o f C o r p o r a l A l v i n H a l l , threatens charges i f Toss can't control his friend. D e w e y fuels the fire o f controversy with his letter exchange with the C o c a M a y - C o n c e r n e d Citizens o f M a y f o r d - t h r o u g h the local newspaper. H e seems to thrive on the animosity he creates towards h i m self and those associated with h i m .